In the words of Richie Hawtin, the founder of the collective Minus, the Cube explores “how technology allows us as artists — and the audience — to make further human contact than would have been possible in the past.” The device uses RFID, allowing fans to 'clock in' at the start of a show with membership cards and then receive 'who's on next?' mobile phone messages and free email downloads.

It's interesting in its current form. but much more as a stimulus for greater projects based on the idea. I can imagine that witnessing the cube in real-life would give it an aura of mysterious sentient technology, LED patterns which change depending on the level of user interaction, hopefully even develop as the user's experience with the object increases i.e. more complex patterns indicate you're a dedicated fan, (because ultimately it's nice to let those in your immediate surroundings know how much you love the music). In a sense it's an ideal way for users to feel a part of something, create a sense of belonging, crowd-buzz. However, if you've dedicated yourself to the scheme in the first place you're probably a dedicated fan, therefore receiving track names via text might be redundant; you know all the tracks anyway, so is this demeaning the idea to tech-savvy geeks who love gadgets or will it truly exhance the experience of the dedicated fans? I guess it depends upon the creativity of the content.

I'd like to see it have a greater sense of identity, make it more alive. Allow people to approach the cube somewhere in the venue instead of 'in your face' at the door, allow like-minded fans to congregate around it like some kind of abstraction of an office water cooler, make each user's experience with the cube unique i.e. unique flashing LED pattern when the user approaches. You could tie it into Pandora, create a unique colour spectrum which indicates the user's personal taste in music, therefore when someone else approaches the cube, you'll know if your taste's match up, seems like a nice way to bond. Make it react to the music being played, does it particularly like the current track and how would it display it's affection? It would look fantastic if you could adjust the brightness of the LEDs, make it go supernova when the song hits the peak of its build-up.

Bruno Fosi has created an interesting 'hi-jack' of the chumby device, allowing the user to monitor and maintain a goldfish from afar. The Chumby's built-in accelerometer and microphone also allow the user to lovingly interact with the fish, making the fish all the happier!